Hi all, coming back around to this site for the first time in like 7 or 8 years (which is how old my current setup is.) Time for it to go, and start completely fresh.

Here's the new build I'm considering, after poking around on this site and elsewhere for a few days, and doing some research. This is very much a first draft. I have some questions below, but also feel free to just steer me to better gear.

I'm going to use this mostly for work, which is paying for it, but I need to stay around this budget. I'm a consultant and programmer. Everything I work with is cloud. Tons of browser tabs, frequent online meetings with screen-sharing and video, that kind of thing. Nothing super CPU intensive like video rendering.

Gaming-wise, I don't do much, and I lean toward strategy. Would like to be able to run the latest Civ. Others would mostly be less hardware-intensive than that.

Want it to be snappy for all of the above, doesn't have to be blazing fast. No interest in overclocking.

Sound-wise, doesn't have to be completely silent. I don't mind a little steady and low-level white noise. I work from home and have small kids, so a little whoosh maybe even helps. What drives me nuts is sharp or variable noise - rattles, fans spinning up and getting loud, sound levels rising and falling, etc. Want to avoid that.

Looking for ease of assembly. I've built 2 systems in my life, last was most of a decade ago. Don't want a steep learning curve. Don't want to be constantly micromanaging settings & fan speeds, although happy to do some tuning inintially. Once it's set up right, hoping to be able to forget about the hardware.

Couldn't care less about how the machine looks.

Questions

CPU seem OK for the usage? Options are a little bewildering. Went w/ AMD for the price and b/c it seems like it might have less exposure to Meltdown/Spectre than Intel, or at least less slowdown from software/firmware fixes?

How hard is the Mugen to install right? Do I need to buy thermal paste separately?

Is this GPU overkill? Never had a desktop w/ a GPU, past 2 builds have been onboard graphics only. Shooting in the dark here.

Some input:* The CPU should suffice for your needs. (Though a 1500X is faster and might be within economic reach if you consider my points below.)* The Mugen cooler is way overkill if you don't overclock. You may consider actually using the stock cooler that come with the CPU.* 16GB of RAM is also more than you need. 8GB is good enough, and you can add more later. (You should definitely overclock the RAM above the default 2133 MHz! With half the amount you can afford lower latency as well.)* Graphics: A GTX 1050Ti is probably the best GPU option for price/performance. Civ VI can make use of some GPU power. Going fanless will probably demand more than the stock fans for your case though. I'd opt for a cheaper graphics card with fanned cooler instead.* Windows OEM means you do the support. A regular license where MS provide support isn't that much more expensive, and in my experience worth it when things go south...

1. It'll work. I'm not that concerned about Meltdown and Spectre for home/work use unless you are hammering the PC with storage I/O requests...which you won't be.

Downside to the cheapest motherboard: Realtek NIC, corners cut/features missing? for price point, maybe not as feature filled BIOS as others in the SKU stack. Might want to download and read thru the manual to check out BIOS screens. Have to spend $40 more to get Intel NIC and higher end analog audio chain (B350 Gaming Pro Carbon).

2. Shouldn't be hard to install. Just large Scythe will supply thermal paste....as it's lower end TDP CPU and large cooler, no need to buy higher end paste. Too bad the Kotetsu Mark II (AM4 compatibility) isn't readily available in US, yet. As Ollie pointed out, you could try the stock cooler first and see if you like it.

3 and 4. GTX 1050 Ti: Good for Civ @ 1080p. I like the KalmX - glad it's finally available in the US. If you provide direct airflow via one of the case fans, it'll do fine temp-wise. For $40 less, you could get the fanned Gigabyte G1 Gaming. Not the absolute quietest of the gaming cards, but pretty quiet and silent at non-gaming loads.

5. It comes with 2 fans. You should try them out and see if you like the temps/noise profile before getting different ones. Given the low power of your system, it could work out with just 2. I lean toward 2 front and 1 rear.

6. MSI does a good job with BIOS fan control. Has both PWM/voltage control, nice preset ranges. Again, I recommend reading the manual / looking at the bios screen prints b4 purchase to make sure it's got all the features you want.

Also, consider the be quiet! Straight Power 10 500CM. Fan is always on, but is inaudible. The Corsair RMx series is almost always on sale somewhere. Newegg has the 650W (overkill) for $75 at present. Semipassive fan design - so it'll never come on for your loads.

@CA_Steve, unfortunately it's hard for me to evaluate mobo quality. I'll look into NIC differences. Don't think I know what to look for in the BIOS. Any particular fan options that are essential? Don't care much about audio, as I plan to use an external DAC for listening to music. Any other pressing reason to go higher-end?

If I did want to replace the case fans, or just get an additional one like CA_Steve recommends, what should I get? (And are the included case fans PWM?) OK to mix one new fan w/ the 2 included case fans? Or is that not recommended?

@CA_Steve, you say the Palit will work fine w/ "direct airflow via one of the case fans". Does that just mean the fan should be more or less pointed toward the GPU without obstructions in-between? Will I likely need to have 2 front fans to make that happen?

What are the consequences if the GPU did overheat? Would it just crash the system? Or would it possibly damage the card?

No-one seems to like the alternate Asus GPU I mentioned. I thought the Strix line was quieter than other fanned GPUs. Is that not the case these days? Would it be quieter than the Gigabyte G1? I don't want to have to mess w/ switching out fans on the GPU.

@walle, do you think the Macho cooler is much easier to install than the Mugen? The decibel range is higher than the Mugen. Are there other advantages?

Oh, one other thing. re the suggestions to try the stock CPU cooler. Isn't it harder to swap out a cooler than to install the first one? Don't you have to clean thermal paste off the CPU or something if you want to swap it?

@CA_Steve, unfortunately it's hard for me to evaluate mobo quality. I'll look into NIC differences. Don't think I know what to look for in the BIOS. Any particular fan options that are essential? Don't care much about audio, as I plan to use an external DAC for listening to music. Any other pressing reason to go higher-end?

- bottom of the SKU stack will work...I just remember limited BIOS features a looong time ago when I went there for a build. Really, download this manual as well as the Gaming Carbon version and just compare the two. See if there are features you might want to use. Does it allow for 4 or 5 break points for a fan curve? Does it allow for either voltage or PWM fans for the chassis headers? Does it have enough headers for your use? (you can always get a fan splitter cable, too).

scholtz wrote:

[*] If I did want to replace the case fans, or just get an additional one like CA_Steve recommends, what should I get? (And are the included case fans PWM?) OK to mix one new fan w/ the 2 included case fans? Or is that not recommended?

Fractal improved their 140mm case fans when the R5 came out - the S has these too. They are voltage controlled. Other fans may be quieter or be able to start at lower rpm...but, really try these first.

scholtz wrote:

[*] @CA_Steve, you say the Palit will work fine w/ "direct airflow via one of the case fans". Does that just mean the fan should be more or less pointed toward the GPU without obstructions in-between? Will I likely need to have 2 front fans to make that happen?

Yes. Maybe not.

scholtz wrote:

[*] What are the consequences if the GPU did overheat? Would it just crash the system? Or would it possibly damage the card?

All processors throttle down these days if temps get to a set limit. No harm no foul. Just having a slow moving front case fan will insure against overheating.

scholtz wrote:

[*] No-one seems to like the alternate Asus GPU I mentioned. I thought the Strix line was quieter than other fanned GPUs. Is that not the case these days? Would it be quieter than the Gigabyte G1? I don't want to have to mess w/ switching out fans on the GPU.

Nobody commenting on the Asus card doesn't equal nobody liking it. If you look at the review I linked, it's 1dB quieter than the Giabyte card...and $20 more. So, on the price vs quiet continuum, KalmX is the quietest and priciest, Gigabyte is the cheapest I'd choose and the noisiest. Asus is in between.

Oh, one other thing. re the suggestions to try the stock CPU cooler. Isn't it harder to swap out a cooler than to install the first one? Don't you have to clean thermal paste off the CPU or something if you want to swap it?

Harder? <shrugs> more of a pain since you have to do an additional uninstall/reinstall. Plus, I tend to install the cooler b4 mounting the motherboard in the case.

I've seen you mention this before as well, but don't understand.I'm fairly sure I've mostly had Realtek for the last 20 years and not noticed anything bad about it. In what way is Intel superior?

walle wrote:

3. The GPU is... a bit pricey for the performance.

No it isn't. The 1050Ti is a very good price/performance GPU.When you mate that GPU with the large cooler on this particular graphics card the bundle price goes up, but it's the added cooling performance that adds cost, not the GPU.

No it isn't. The 1050Ti is a very good price/performance GPU.When you mate that GPU with the large cooler on this particular graphics card the bundle price goes up, but it's the added cooling performance that adds cost, not the GPU.

RX 470 is no longer available.An RX 570 at more than twice the price of a GTX 1050Ti is not good price/performance, and too expensive for "light gaming".The sensible alternatives to 1050Ti would be GTX 1050 or RX 560, that are 20-25% lower priced, but also lower (too low?) performance.

From my personal perspective, going in price order:* The 1050/560 are insufficient performance for general 1080p gaming.* 1050Ti is minimum acceptable performance.* 1060 (3GB) is too little VRAM and something I'd stay away from.* 1060 (6GB) is right now the sweet spot for effortless 1080p gaming.* RX 570/580 are overpriced. Would compete with the 1060 if priced lower, but do also consume more power.

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Have been considering two pieces of advice in particular: "try the stock AMD cooler because the Mugen is overkill" and "get a Be Quiet PSU instead of the Seasonic". While both these seem reasonable, I am thinking of sticking w/ both the Mugen and the Seasonic. Here's my reasoning:

* Mugen would be for the sake of quietness, not b/c I need a lot of extra cooling. Reviews seem to say that Wraith Stealth that comes w/ the 1300X is not crazy loud but not really super quiet either. If I'm bothering to get the Palit fanless GPU, don't want my CPU fan making a bunch of noise. * Plus I might actually overclock the CPU since walle says it's so easy...* The Be Quiet PSU is about $20 more than the Seasonic, and the Seasonic reviews say it's very quiet.

So I figure if I'm spending money on quietness, why not put that into improving a middling CPU cooler rather than improving an already-quiet PSU.

If anyone disagrees with this logic, please weigh in. I'm happy to be convinced otherwise. And open to other coolers, especially if cheaper than the Mugen but also very quiet.

* Is it OK to mix voltage-controlled and PWM fans in the case if they're on separate headers? Gonna try the stock Fractal fans like you suggest, but leaning toward getting at least one additional fan for extra airflow on the GPU. PWM seems like the right way to go there, but wanna make sure I'm not gonna run into trouble w/ the mobo controller if I mix them.* Any quibble with Noctua NF-A15? Little cheaper than Be Quiet Silent Wings, rates v. quiet.* Interested in your assertion that any more than 3 case fans doesn't help. Got any articles on that topic you could recommend?

* Is it OK to mix voltage-controlled and PWM fans in the case if they're on separate headers? Gonna try the stock Fractal fans like you suggest, but leaning toward getting at least one additional fan for extra airflow on the GPU. PWM seems like the right way to go there, but wanna make sure I'm not gonna run into trouble w/ the mobo controller if I mix them.* Any quibble with Noctua NF-A15? Little cheaper than Be Quiet Silent Wings, rates v. quiet.* Interested in your assertion that any more than 3 case fans doesn't help. Got any articles on that topic you could recommend?

Yes, no, nothing that I can point to really quick....just feedback from a lot of builds.

Just a little reality check: your system stress load (stock speeds) is at most 175W...with heavy gaming load probably closer to 150W. You aren't pushing a lot of heat through this case. So, you should be able to run the case fans at pretty low rpms...if not at the 500rpm mins for the Fractals. Adding a third fan will mostly help for directed air across the KalmX and a little for positive pressure (less dust build up).

Neither the Palit nor the Gigabyte G1 nor the Asus Strix seem to be in stock anywhere in the US. Both seem to be available only through one German site (grooves.land) which seems to have a spotty track record. Many stores say out of stock, others say "call for availability" which I assume means out of stock but less us sell you something else? What's going on w/ 1050 ti GPUs?

The only under $300 ones listed in pcpartpicker w/ availability are these:

You might consider setting price alerts @ pcpartpicker for those three cards (and the MSI Gaming) and get one when they come back in stock from a reputable etailer.. Take a look at the historic pricing...all of them jumped up in the last two weeks.

It mostly means I didn't have an immediate answer and didn't have time to research

Some of them are listed in my GTX 1050 Ti complation thread. Another good source is Techpowerup's review database.

These cards really aren't great for crypto currency mining...so I don't know why the prices have jumped up...unless it's a trickle down effect (too damn expensive to buy higher GTX or Vega, so, let's get one of these).

I run a Kotetsu with an i3 (65w TDP) and while gaming with fans at very low speed, my CPU is 30°c. It already feels overkill so I don't see any reason to go for the mugen. I have no experience with overclocking and I am more a beginner so let's see what others advise.

What do folks think of this Shadow Rock line from Be Quiet? New Egg has Shadow Rock LP (low profile) for a little less than the Mugen. Have plenty of room in the case, but I guess smaller can't hurt. Might be easier to install?

It's Rated at 130W TDP and my chip is 65W TDP. Does that provide enough headroom if I want to overclock later?

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